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Thursday, November 18, 2010

News on the transportation funding crisis

On Wednesday 11/17, The Port Authority's planning and development committee approved the proposed service cuts to become effective on March 13th, 2011. Also, starting January 2011, the Zone 1 fare will be $2.25 per trip, Zone 2 fare will be $3.25 and transfers $1.On the up side, a $32,500 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation will dot all buses with bike racks.

Putting aside the irony of this situation, there is an actual gain from having bike racks on all buses. People who are riding buses due to environmental concerns rather than need may use a bike-bus combination instead of driving to work and increase traffic congestion even further. Wendy Stern, the PAT's assistant general manager for planning and development, stated that if the agency gets more state funding before March, the service cuts could be modified. But as we all know at this point there are no plans for more funding in the state budget.

Now we can all cross our handsand do nothing or… we can voice our concerns. This blog is open for your comments, concerns and rider experiences. You can contact us by e-mail at actransitcouncil@gmail.com to express them.

Another website where you can voice your opinion on the transportation funding issue – an issue that will also impact road and bridge maintenance – is keepPGHmoving. The website is a Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership initiative.